Communications Director (Malawi Governance for Solutions) – DAI

Job Description

Governance for Solutions (GfS) is a five-year (2022-2027) program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to enhance public service delivery in the health, education, agriculture, and natural resource management (NRM) sectors in Malawi. GfS works with local governments, citizens, civil society organizations, and the private sector at the council level, and with key central government institutions, including the Ministry of Local Government, Unity, and Culture (MoLGUC), the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD), the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC), the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) and the departments of Forestry and Fisheries.

The overall goal of GfS is to remove critical bottlenecks to public service delivery and contribute to a broader understanding of effective governance practices in Malawi. This is achieved through three Result Areas (RAs):

1. Increased availability of high performing, motivated, and disciplined staff in service delivery.
2. Improved allocation and utilization of public financial resources in service delivery.
3. Enabling policy and regulatory frameworks for service delivery implemented.

The project uses a variation of the Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) methodology to facilitate locally led problem-solving, bringing together coalitions of knowledgeable citizens and government officials to select problems, design and test solutions, and adapt based on the results. GfS supports local stakeholders to implement Problem-Based Interventions (PBIs) and works with councils to address systemic bottlenecks that contribute to the selected problems through Enabling Interventions (EIs). The project also provides technical assistance for Government-to-Government (G2G) agreements between USAID and the Government of Malawi (GoM) in Zomba, Mangochi, and Chikwawa districts and at the central level.

In August 2024, GfS expanded its scope in accordance with Modification P005 to the cooperative agreement. In Y3, GfS will be working in fifteen councils, five urban and ten rural, across Malawi.  A map of the geographic coverage of the project can be found at the end of this document.

With the expansion, GfS will also intensify its work at the central level to address bottlenecks that affect local service delivery, and deepen its activities related to private sector engagement, citizen engagement, and research and learning.

Objectives of the assignment

The Communications Director will:

•  Implement a Communications Strategy and Annual Communications Workplan that supports the Annual Technical Workplan, the overarching goals of the GfS project, and the goals of the USAID Mission in Malawi.
•  Manage a team of communications professionals to execute the Communications Strategy and Annual Communications Workplan and ensure smooth, consistent, and timely implementation of activities.
•  Ensure quality deliverables to the USAID client that meet branding and marking standards and overall professionalism.

Tasks & Responsibilities

The GfS communications team includes two full-time Communications Specialist, one STTA Senior Communications Advisor. The Communications Director will coordinate closely with the Collaboration, Learning, and Adaptation (CLA) Team Lead and the District Liaison Officer Coordinator to capture and report out on district and project wide attainment of project goals.

Duties and scope of work are described below.

Strategic Planning

• Lead annual and more in-depth quarterly strategic planning in collaboration with the rest of the Communications, Learning, and Monitoring and Evaluation team, as appropriate.
• Develop strategic communications plans and timelines for special initiatives, campaigns, and more complex activities such as the development of print, broadcast and new media products and their distribution.
• Lead on evaluating the effectiveness of project communications and adapting plans and implementation accordingly.
• Provide strategic counsel to senior project leadership, and when appropriate, the USAID client.
• Facilitate adherence to protocols and standard operating procedures when interfacing with USAID.

External Communications

•  Collaboration with the USAID Development, Outreach, and Communications (DOC) specialist for external events, site visits, media outreach, and success/impact story development.
• Lead on event planning providing vision, identifying resources, establishing agendas and run-of-shows, assigning tasks, and ensuring all assigned tasks are completed.
•  Collaborate with “creative” consultants (photographers, videographers, graphic designers), giving guidance and direction for deliverables, leading on pre-production activities (concept, scripts, coordinating location logistics and interviews, etc.)
• Continue developing needed foundational materials such as fact sheets, brochures, and other visibility pieces.
• Evolve messaging and message documents, and develop talking points and remarks, as needed.
• Identify stories and work with M&E to collect supporting data; interface with USAID DOC to “pitch” stories ripe for media outreach or general storytelling.
• Oversight and implementation of project Branding and Marking Plan, ensuring all deliverables adhere to USAID standards.
• Conduct media outreach (traditional, social, and/or digital), as appropriate.
• Appropriate and thoughtful distribution of all external deliverables, resources, and other assets.

Internal Communications

•  Support internal learning activities and events that help evolve and adapt the project to current needs and to realize the highest level of results and impact.
•  Collaborate closely with the project M&E team to collect and shape data in order to tell a meaningful story about what the project team is accomplishing and organize the information for easy access.
• Oversight of general knowledge management and communication asset management, i.e., accessible photo library, video archive, graphics, etc., and logical organization of folders and files.
•  Coordinates closely with M&E team and CLA lead to develop Quarterly and Annual Progress Reports.
• Coordinates closely entire project team to develop Weekly Reports.

Administration

•  Assist with identifying and onboarding required resources, consultants and/or firms to facilitate implementation of annual communication work plans.
• Mentor, evaluate, and help professionally grow team.
• Participates in weekly project team meetings.
• Organize and facilitate regular communications team meetings.
•  Fulfill other duties as assigned that reasonably and logically fall within the role and scope of work.

Qualifications 

•  Must have at least 10 years of relevant work experience.
• Experience working with USAID or other multinational entity is preferred.
• Experience working with culturally diverse teams, demonstrating a willingness to work alongside all project staff to accomplish goals and be a team player.
• Degree in a relevant discipline such as but not limited to Communications, Journalism, English, or International Relations.
•  Experience with project and task management and advancing multiple streams of work simultaneously.
• Experience with both internal and external communications.
• Experience managing a communications team that may include a bench of consultants, including photographer, videographer, and/or graphic designer.
• Demonstrates understanding of communication strategy and has proven implementation of a strategic plan including, but not limited to: message development and branding, event planning and management, media relations (traditional, digital, and social), multimedia planning and production, storytelling, and reporting.
• Must demonstrate strong English language and writing skills.